


Eye Of The Storm

by kcstories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: rarepair_shorts, F/M, ghost!cedric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-02-25
Updated: 2008-02-25
Packaged: 2018-07-23 15:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7468752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcstories/pseuds/kcstories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a long shot to assume he'd be there for a second evening in a row, but that didn't lessen her determination in the slightest. She badly wanted to see him again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eye Of The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> **Characters:** Hermione, Ghost!Cedric (mention of past Ron/Hermione and Cedric/Cho)  
>  **Warnings:** AU-ish. Slightly fluffy?  
>  **A/N:** The Potterverse is JKR's, not mine. Written for challenge #2 in 2008. The story had to begin with "It was a dark and stormy night."

It was a dark and stormy night, and the harsh November rain showed no signs of letting up.

With swift steps, Hermione Granger climbed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.

It was a long shot to assume he'd be there for a second evening in a row, but that didn't lessen her determination in the slightest. She badly wanted to see him again.

Their first meeting had been a painful coincidence. She hadn't meant for anyone to witness her nasty break-up with Ron.

Well, all right, it hadn't been that nasty, but telling someone you no longer wanted to be with him was never fun, no matter how carefully you sugar-coated the news or how much of the blame you graciously took upon yourself.

She finally reached the top of the stairs and surveying her surroundings, she could certainly understand why people made the effort to come up here, particularly in bad weather. Between these walls, there was a calmness inside the storm, an oasis of peace amidst the turmoil. Being here was almost like being in a different world.

She looked around eagerly, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

In his own particular way, Cedric Diggory had always intrigued her. Not romantically, of course (she'd been dating Viktor at the time), but more on an intellectual level. Not that he'd ever given her as much as a second glance himself. He'd only had eyes for Cho Chang.

She didn't have any guarantees that he'd be pleased to see her now. Perhaps he would prefer not to talk. He’d hardly breathed a word yesterday, at any rate.

She turned a corner and smiled when she noticed him standing by one of the windows and looking up at the sky.

She wondered what he might be thinking, and she was even more eager to find out whether he knew why he’d been turned into a ghost, rather than—

Did he still have some unfinished business here, perhaps?

She longed to ask him, but that didn't seem appropriate, not unless he were to bring up the subject first.

"Granger," he greeted her pleasantly, not bothering to turn his head. So he'd been expecting her. "Already back, then?”

"Yes," she replied simply. "I thought you might like some company, especially on a night like this." She walked up to him, took a seat on the window sill and added, "It must get pretty lonely up here sometimes."

He shrugged dismissively. "I'm used to it."

She studied him with a slight frown. He still looked exactly as she remembered him, save for that strange ethereal glow some ghosts had.

"Anyway,” he went on to ask her. “Why did you come up here? Aren't the living notably more interesting?"

"Not really," she replied, suddenly sounding grim.

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Oh?"

"Things aren't that much fun down there,” she said, making a vague gesture towards the door.

He gave her a questioning frown, and she began to explain: "We've just lived through a war, and yet we're right back where we started. The same old Gryffindor versus Slytherin nonsense is going on; combine that with the usual gossip, and for some reason almost everyone I know is walking around moaning and complaining." She sighed in exasperation. "Maybe I'm just being awfully harsh and unsympathetic, but gosh, shouldn't we be relieved or grateful or... or something?"

Cedric looked thoughtful. "It's funny," he remarked after a while. "People waste so much time worrying when they're still alive. I've found the biggest regrets generally involve the things that you didn't do."

"The things you didn't do," she repeated softly. "Yes, I-I think I see what you mean."

"Still," he went on. "I suppose it's not too late yet." He bowed elegantly and held out his hand. "Miss Granger, would you do me the honour of this dance?"

Hermione blinked.

"I wanted to ask you at the Yule Ball, you know, but you and Viktor Krum seemed to be attached at the hip, and then Ron Weasley had to start that nasty argument."

"Yes," she replied bitterly. "He's always had a special talent for arguments."

"Right," he said with a wide smile, determined to keep the mood pleasant, “how about that dance, then?"

"All right," she said, now smiling too. “Why not?”

She balanced her hand above a shoulder she couldn't feel while he placed a hand on her waist, sending a slight chill up and down her spine.

They danced without music as outside the rain rattled and the storm howled.


End file.
